Article: May’s Mentality Much Needed In Pen

[Brock Beauchamp]

I like how so many people are just assuming that May is a No. 2 starter, based on... who knows.

 

He hasn't shown that kind of ability as a starter in the majors, save for one short stretch, and he was never a top-tier pitching prospect in the minors.

 

I know, I know. "Now we'll never know!" But the downside of finding that out is reducing your starter depth (some SP is probably gone if May is in the rotation) and severely weakening your bullpen. And if May proves not to be vastly superior than the alternative starting option, it could prove to be a very costly error. Very costly.

My sentiments exactly. I'd prefer to see May in the rotation but I'm not willing to throw away Milone to make it happen.

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

My sentiments exactly. I'd prefer to see May in the rotation but I'm not willing to throw away Milone to make it happen.

Again, that wasn't necessarily the choice.  Keep Milone, put Nolasco in the pen (or at least let May compete with him and "The Duffman" until the end of spring training), and you're done.  No SP lost.

 

Now, some posters have certainly suggested dealing Milone, but that absolutely was not necessary to get May into the rotation.

[Brock Beauchamp]

Again, that wasn't necessarily the choice. Keep Milone, put Nolasco in the pen (or at least let May compete with him and "The Duffman" until the end of spring training), and you're done. No SP lost.

 

Now, some posters have certainly suggested dealing Milone, but that absolutely was not necessary to get May into the rotation.

I was actually in favor of moving Milone this offseason to get May into the rotation.

[TheLeviathan]

You only have to "dump Milone" if you count what they did with May as "dumping May"

[Brock Beauchamp]

You only have to "dump Milone" if you count what they did with May as "dumping May"

I don't see Milone being a particularly effective bullpen arm, even as a lefty specialist.

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

I was actually in favor of moving Milone this offseason to get May into the rotation.

But certainly you see that while moving Milone could get May into the rotation, it wasn't necessary to get him into the rotation.  In fact, it wasn't even the easiest and most expedient way -- let May compete with Nolasco, and let Nolasco earn his way back into the rotation from a bullpen spot if necessary.

[TheLeviathan]

 

I don't see Milone being a particularly effective bullpen arm, even as a lefty specialist.

 

Chances are that he'd be just fine.  Predicting who will or will not be an effective bullpen arm is not much of a science, it's more guesswork.

 

In either case, we didn't have to remove Milone from the roster to put May in the rotation.  

[Willihammer]

Fun with numbers- Milone has a 16.2 K/9 as a reliever.

May only has 10.4

Edited March 25, 2016 by Willihammer

[jimmer]

 

Well he had a 10.5 k/9 rate in the minors, and was a top 100 prospect, for one... and seemed to finally work out his control issues before being put in the pen. 

 

He's pitched 25 games in the majors, the last ~10 of which were pretty good.  

 

Personally, I like how some people are just assuming May does not have #2/3 starter potential based on... I don't know, his 1st 15 Major League starts?

 

PS: God forbid we risked losing this unbelievable starting pitcher depth by removing Nolasco or Milone from the rotation

Risk aversion is the name of the game. Might lose a mediocre pitcher or two from our underwhelming rotation depth. :-)

Edited March 25, 2016 by jimmer

[Richie the Rally Goat]

NO ONE IS ASSUMING THAT. We've been over this. NO ONE IS ASSUMING HE IS A 2. The straw man is tiresome. It really is.

 

Some of us think he has that upside, and we'd like to bet on the upside for a change. You agree with the Twins, bet on the low side play. That's fine, that's their right. Some of us just don't agree.

right, and if May proves in 2015 that he's not well suited to the rotation, but is well suited to the bullpen, how much worse than Nolasco could he be? How hard would it be to sign or trade for a Nolasco/Milone type guy if you did lose one of them? Criminy they got Milone for a 5th outfielder

 

But if they gave May a shot and he ends up being special, the gamble pays off. If they don't give May a shot in 2015, when? At what point does he become a reliever?

Edited March 25, 2016 by Sconnie

[Han Joelo]

When I look at what Kimbrel and Giles garnered in trades, I think finding out what they have in Bullpen May is a smart business decision.  I see the Twins handling this situation like parents might handle a teenager--supportive, not wanting to entirely squash his dreams…yet pragmatic enough to know his math skills ultimately aren't going to get him to NASA.

 

I guess you can criticize the Twins for telling him white lies, but I won't.  My dream of going to space, while incredibly unlikely, isn't dead yet either.

[jimmer]

 

But if they gave May a shot and he ends up being special, the gamble pays off. If they don't give May a shot in 2015, when? At what point does he become a reliever?

Last season.  That's it. Done deal. Decision was made last year when we pushed him to the pen to ensure Pelfrey had a spot.

[Brock Beauchamp]

right, and if May proves in 2015 that he's not well suited to the rotation, but is well suited to the bullpen, how much worse than Nolasco could he be? How hard would it be to sign or trade for a Nolasco/Milone type guy if you did lose one of them? Criminy they got Milone for a 5th outfielder

The Milone trade was outright theft. Guys like that aren't normally available for the likes of Sam Fuld.

 

It was a terrible trade by Beane and many called it such at the time, including myself.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

The Milone trade was outright theft. Guys like that aren't normally available for the likes of Sam Fuld.

 

It was a terrible trade by Beane and many called it such at the time, including myself.

fair, it was an outlier not the norm, still those guys are available at reasonable trade costs and normal overpriced free agency rates. You don't have to give up the farm to get a 5th starter

[Linus]

The Milone trade was outright theft. Guys like that aren't normally available for the likes of Sam Fuld.

 

It was a terrible trade by Beane and many called it such at the time, including myself.

Yep. People continually underestimate Milone because he doesn't throw hard. If you objectively look at his results he is a pitcher of value.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

fair, it was an outlier not the norm, still those guys are available at reasonable trade costs and normal overpriced free agency rates. You don't have to give up the farm to get a 5th starter

Agreed. The cost is marginal to acquire that guy but availability is spotty during the season. Few teams are interested in a trade from February to June.

 

Offseason, though, yeah. Not hard to find that guy.

[TheLeviathan]

Again, Milone didn't have to move.  We could be rolling out Santana, Milone, Gibson, May, and Hughes if we wanted to.

 

We didn't want to.  That's really all it boils down to.

[Otto von Ballpark]

Again, Milone didn't have to move. We could be rolling out Santana, Milone, Gibson, May, and Hughes if we wanted to.

 

We didn't want to. That's really all it boils down to.

Yup. You might as well say we couldn't add Park because we'd presumably have to dump someone and lose depth to make room. But you know what? We didn't have to, just moved some guys around. No depth lost.

 

Same here. Nolasco is basically Arcia in the Park situation, getting shifted to a backup/platoon role based as much on his suspect recent health and performance as any new acquisition.

[Rezzy]

I think the main thing to remember is that right NOW, with a record of 0-0, the Twins are contending. When the season starts May is going to come out of the pen and hopefully preserve a lead that Milone and Nolasco somehow left us with.

 

I like the odds of that better than Milone or Nolasco preserving a lead left to us by May.

 

Now when the record changes for better or worse due to the performance of said 3, we might see May, Nolasco, and Milone in a different role.

 

But for now, in the words of some poster that might over use the phrase, May in the pen, is called good 'asset management'.